Melissa Gilbert of "Little House on the Prairie" fame announced that she would be running for Congress in Michigan on Monday, citing "fresh voices" are required to better the economy for people who have fallen behind, according to The Associated Press.
Gilbert, a 51-year-old Democrat, who moved from California after she tied the knot with actor Timothy Busfield, will run for the 8th District, which covers three counties from the suburbs of northern Detroit to the state of Lansing and has been in the hands of GOP for 15 years. Gilbert will run against first-term Republican Rep. Mike Bishop of Rochester, who won last year following then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers' decision not to seek re-election.
"Please join me in my fight for working families," Gilbert Tweeted on Monday.
Excited to announce my run for U.S. Congress in Michigan's 8th. Please join me in my fight for working families. https://t.co/WTUEZukVeX
— Melissa Gilbert (@GilbertforMI) August 10, 2015
"I'm running for Congress to make life a little easier for all the families who feel they have fallen through the cracks in today's economy. I believe building a new economy is a team effort, and we need to bring fresh voices to the table to get the job done," Gilbert wrote on her campaign website.
Bishop's campaign spokesman Stu Sandler immediately pointed out that Gilbert owes the IRS more than $300,000 in taxes.
"Melissa Gilbert can afford to have a stylist and a Louis Vuitton collar for her dog, but cannot pay her taxes. Her Hollywood values are out of whack with the district," Sandler said, CNN reported.
The actress was president of the Screen Actors Guild from 2001 to 2005 and has authored several books, including Prairie Tale: A Memoir and last year's My Prairie Cookbook: Memories and Frontier Food from My Little House to Yours, according to Entertainment Weekly.
